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Saturday, 31 May 2014

A lazy long run

If you fantasize about jumping in the
river while out running, you're probably on the brink of dehydration.
Because said river was neither warm or otherwise particularly
inviting as I took a detour at the end of my run to bring my
total distance to 30 km.

A light drizzle obscured my sight this
morning as I headed west for an hour of silent, solo running before
it was time to join AIK. It was only 12 degrees and grey, but the
solitude and tranquility of the river somehow developed pictures in
my mind of warm summer mornings. I stopped to take photos with my
phone now and then, something that turned out to be less than wise
towards the end of my run when I realised I would have to put in some
pretty fast kilometres if I was going to make it to training in time.
But it was worth it. Some views were worth saving in more than my
memory.

I arrived at the hockey arena with only
a couple of minutes to spare. We then embarked on a tour around
Vitberget, on paths and trails darkened by the recent rain. Someone had turned the saturation levels all the way to
max, and the trees were a blinding green. At places, stones
were slippery, roots were hellbent on making us trip and moss was
doing its best to suck our shoes off our feet. Yet, no one was
complaining. Quite a few of us were laughing.

My knee didn't appreciate the scenery
as much as I did. I wondered how I would manage a 30 km run on a
grumpy knee. It didn't like the uphill bits, it didn't like the
downhill bits. It strongly disliked the step dancing kind of running
style I employed to avoid twisting an ankle on one of the stones
littering the single track. The rest of me felt great.

I ran the long way home. Keeping to
the river once again, I listened closely to what my body was telling
me. The knee was happier, but what really surprised me was that,
approaching 28 km, I still felt great. I briefly considered following
the river all the way to the dam, a detour of another 5 km, but then
decided against it. It may have felt like I could run all day, but it
didn't mean I actually could.

I finished my run satisfied and just
tired enough. This was exactly the run I needed. In so many ways.